Lee Kuan Yew's memoir of Singapore's transformation from a poor colonial backwater to one of the world's wealthiest nations — the most detailed insider account of development policy ever written by its architect.
Development policy from the inside: LKY's memoir documents the specific decisions that transformed Singapore — attracting multinationals by guaranteeing rule of law and labor peace, building a meritocratic civil service, making English the working language, creating the Central Provident Fund (forced savings), maintaining racial harmony through explicit policy. Written without the abstractions of development economics — specific decisions, specific reasoning, specific outcomes. For anyone interested in how poor countries become rich, the most actionable single document available.
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